Archive: Karolos Arapakis
The brief’s key findings are: The value of Social Security’s retirement program to individuals is often measured by comparing expected benefits to payroll taxes. But this approach ignores the program’s insurance value, which is larger for those with more uncertain lifespans. The analysis estimates the insurance value using a lifecycle model for stylized households by race, education,…
Although many economic models predict high annuitization rates, only a small portion of retirees hold an annuity. This discrepancy is known as the “annuity puzzle.” Many explanations have been advanced for this puzzle, all of them promoting reasons why individuals might not want to annuitize. This brief, which is based on a recent paper, analyzes…
